Much of this area is in the Mount Charleston Wilderness Area, learn which crags are within our outside of it before you go. See the BLM Fact Sheet for a good overview of what it protects and what that limits, and the Forest Service page for other information.

This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund,
and Mountain Project.You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates.

Description

I put his route up in summer of ’93 with Jason Astuto, Bart Dinsman, Mark Quinn, Mike Klinger, Gorge Smith et al. Sometime later Thomas Beck added eight more bolts and a belay on the first pitch.

Pitch 1, 5.9- Climb a flake with beautiful washboard holds until it ends at about 50’, continue up past a bulge to ledge with an anchor in hollow rock. Go up more washboard holds, passing a small roof on the left and aim for the shallow slot left of the dihedral. Belay on a nice ledge made of stacked blocks with a couple bolts in solid rock but wonky positions. Pitch 2, 5.9- Step right for 10’ and go up steep rock between bulges. At the fourth bolt traverse hard right, staying below the whiter rotten rock, aiming for a short, thin, and dark crack about 80’ away where the cliff bends. Get gear in this crack, go around the corner and up easier rock to a small overhang. Belay above the overhang on a small stance on the left side go the huge cleft in the middle of the wall. Pitch 3, 5.10c/d Climb steep rock straight up to thin ledge below the big roof. Follow the ledge right to where the roof is smaller and not as steep. Use a long runners on the bolts across the ledge or you’ll have big time rope drag. Belay on a nice small ledge above the roof. Pitch 4, 5.8 Climb left and up easy terrain to a dihedral that ends at a big ledge. Continue on the face to the right and up to the huge ledge with the pine trees that runs across the top of the cliff.

Descent: Rappel, with two ropes, the last two pitches, then from the top of pitch two, a short rappel straight down to an anchor at the bottom of the large cleft in the middle of the wall. A long rap drops you on a wide section of the long ledge that runs across the bottom of the wall then one more rap to the ground from here.

Location

On the left side of the Universal Wall are two large overhanging sections of white rock with a right-leaning gray swath between. This climb follows this gray swath. Start under a long thin flake about 40' right of an alcove at the base.